Missiology

During the course of the 2010 Lausanna Congress, those present were asked what they thought were the key missiological issues which faced the global evangelical church at that time. Many of their responses are summarized in the actual document which came out of the Congress, the Cape Town Commitment. Amongst the thirty-two areas of need listed, these 10 were perhaps the most important.

Since so much of my life has been invested in travel, much of it international, I’ve observed something about those of us who possess the power, privilege, and money to travel overseas; sometimes we end up treating the world like a product to be consumed.

If you are a TCK yourself, know that you are not alone. You are uniquely gifted as a bridge-builder in God’s global mission. You can see, interact, pray, mourn, and make peace in ways that no one else can. We need your voice in our faith communities so we can learn how to be better witnesses cross-culturally!

You have been fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139; Genesis 1:26). But you have not been made in a vacuum. Whether or not you’re aware of it, who you are is intricately and uniquely linked to the communities you’ve been a part of (your family, your church, etc.). The worship style that resonates with you most deeply—your worship story—comes out of these communities.

In John 13, Jesus commands his disciples: “Love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (verses 34-35 ESV). This passage stirs me each time I read it because it does not simply refer to the Christians we see face to face; it includes those who are persecuted, those whom we have not met. The way we love those whom we have not seen is through prayer.

It had been a while since I read the Declaration of Independence, so I went back and read it again. If I had ever learned that our Declaration of Independence refers to Native Americans as “merciless Indian Savages,” I had forgotten it. As a White American, it’s too easy for me to have selective amnesia.

On April 2, 2015, four members of a terrorist group called al-Shabab entered Garissa University in Kenya, separated the Christians from the Muslims, and shot the followers of Jesus. By the time the police arrived and killed the attackers, 148 students were dead and 79 were injured.

I play basketball with a group of guys at the local 24 Hour Fitness. Our relationship consists of playing ball together and that’s pretty much it. But a few months ago, after we finished playing, a group of us stuck around to shoot the breeze.

Since Urbana is about partnering with God in his work in the global church, it seemed our musical worship should reflect this. A diverse, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual approach to musical worship is an opportunity to engage in good missiology before heading out on mission.